By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Montenegrin center Nikola Vucevic of Orlando in the East and Serb center Nikola Jokic of Denver in the West joined starter Giannis Antetokounmpo as reserves in the NBA All-Star Game.
On the contrary Slovenian rookie sensation, Luka Doncic of Dallas will have to settle for the Rising Stars game this year and also French big man Rudy Gobert of Utah was left out.
Per the NBA: The 68th NBA All-Star Game, featuring Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis, will take place on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. ET at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. TNT and ESPN Radio will air the game in the United States. NBA All-Star 2019 will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.
Joining Westbrook as reserves in the Western Conference player pool are San Antonio Spurs forward-center LaMarcus Aldridge, New Orleans Pelicans forward-center Anthony Davis, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns. Jokić has been named an NBA All-Star for the first time.
The Eastern Conference reserve pool includes three first-time NBA All-Star selections: Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton, Philadelphia 76ers guard-forward Ben Simmons and Orlando Magic center Nikola Vučević. They are joined by Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin, Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry and Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo.
Team captains LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks will draft the NBA All-Star Game rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference. The team rosters will be revealed on TNT in a special NBA All-Star Draft Show on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. ET.
James and Antetokounmpo will make their picks without regard for a player’s conference affiliation or position. Each captain will choose 11 players to complete a 12-man roster. The 2019 NBA All-Star Draft rules include:
- The eight starters (aside from James and Antetokounmpo) will be drafted in the First Round.
- The 14 reserves will be drafted in the Second Round.
- As the top overall vote-getter among fans, James will have the first pick in the First Round (Starters). Antetokounmpo will have the first pick in the Second Round (Reserves).
- The captains will alternate picks in each round until all players in that round have been selected.
- The 10 All-Star Game starters, unveiled last week, were selected by fans, current NBA players and a media panel. The Eastern Conference starter pool consists of Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard, the Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving and the Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker. The Western Conference starter pool is James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City’s Paul George and the Houston Rockets’ James Harden.
The 14 All-Star Game reserves were selected by the NBA’s 30 head coaches. The coaches voted for seven players in their respective conferences – two guards, three frontcourt players and two additional players at either position group. They were not permitted to vote for players from their own team.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select the replacement for any player unable to participate in the All-Star Game, choosing a player from the same conference as the player who is being replaced.
Team LeBron will be coached by the head coach from the Western Conference team with the best record through games played on Sunday, Feb. 3. Team Giannis will be led by the head coach from the Eastern Conference team with the best record through games played on Feb. 3.
Below is a closer look at the NBA All-Star Game reserves and a complete list of this year’s All-Star selections.
2019 NBA ALL-STAR GAME RESERVES
Western Conference Player Pool
LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs (7th All-Star selection): Aldridge is an All-Star for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. The Spurs have now had at least one player selected to 21 consecutive All-Star Games, the NBA’s longest active streak.
Anthony Davis, Pelicans (6th All-Star selection): An All-Star for the sixth year in a row, Davis scored a record 52 points in the 2017 All-Star Game.
Nikola Jokić, Nuggets (1st All-Star selection): Selected with the 41st overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Serbian center is Denver’s first All-Star since the 2010-11 season (Carmelo Anthony).
Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers (4th All-Star selection): Lillard is the fourth player to earn at least four All-Star nods with Portland, joining Clyde Drexler (eight), Aldridge (four) and Sidney Wicks (four).
Klay Thompson, Warriors (5th All-Star selection): This marks the fifth consecutive All-Star selection for Thompson, who made a game-high five three-pointers and scored 15 points in the 2018 All-Star Game.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves (2nd All-Star selection): Towns is the third player to be named an All-Star multiple times with Minnesota, along with Kevin Garnett (10) and Kevin Love (three).
Russell Westbrook, Thunder (8th All-Star selection): An All-Star for the eighth time in the last nine seasons, Westbrook is the only player to win the Kia NBA All-Star MVP Award outright in back-to-back years (2015 and 2016).
Eastern Conference Player Pool
Bradley Beal, Wizards (2nd All-Star selection): This is the second straight All-Star selection for Beal, who scored 14 points in his All-Star Game debut last year.
Blake Griffin (6th All-Star selection): Griffin is set to appear in the All-Star Game for the first time since 2014, when he scored 38 points as a member of the LA Clippers.
Kyle Lowry, Raptors (5th All-Star selection): With his fifth consecutive All-Star nod, Lowry becomes the second player to be named to at least five All-Star teams after not being selected in any of his first eight seasons, joining Chauncey Billups.
Khris Middleton, Bucks (1st All-Star selection): The 39th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft joins Antetokounmpo to give Milwaukee multiple All-Stars in the same season for the first time since 2000-01 (Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson).
Victor Oladipo, Pacers (2nd All-Star selection): Oladipo has been named an All-Star in each of his two seasons with Indiana. He sustained a season-ending ruptured quad tendon in his right knee on Jan. 23.
Ben Simmons, 76ers (1st All-Star selection): The reigning Kia NBA Rookie of the Year makes his All-Star debut in his second season – just as Philadelphia teammate Embiid did last year.
Nikola Vučević, Magic (1st All-Star selection): The eight-year NBA veteran from Montenegro is Orlando’s first All-Star selection since the 2011-12 season (Dwight Howard).
2019 NBA ALL-STAR GAME SELECTIONS
Starters
*Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee)
Stephen Curry (Golden State)
Kevin Durant (Golden State)
Joel Embiid (Philadelphia)
Paul George (Oklahoma City)
James Harden (Houston)
Kyrie Irving (Boston)
*LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
Kawhi Leonard (Toronto)
Kemba Walker (Charlotte)
*Team Captain
Reserves
LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio)
Bradley Beal (Washington)
Anthony Davis (New Orleans)
Blake Griffin (Detroit)
Nikola Jokić (Denver)
Damian Lillard (Portland)
Kyle Lowry (Toronto)
Khris Middleton (Milwaukee)
Victor Oladipo (Indiana)
Ben Simmons (Philadelphia)
Klay Thompson (Golden State)
Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota)
Nikola Vučević (Orlando)
Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City)